Chef & Sommelier Spirits

The choice starts with the drink. Grappa gets a narrow 10 cl bowl in which the alcohol does not immediately take over. The Cordinal glass comes in 8 and 10 cl and is the shape for liqueur and sweet digestifs. Sherry and port get a 12 cl bowl, big enough to swirl in but small enough to stay cool. Rum is poured into the 17 cl glass with its wider belly. And then there is the 70 cl balloon for cognac, where a small pour is given plenty of surface. Have a look at the cognac glasses and the liqueur glasses as well.

Pour small. The 70 cl balloon takes no more than three to four centilitres, just enough to cover the bottom when you tilt the glass. Do not warm cognac over a flame but with your hand around the bowl. Grappa and sherry, by contrast, are served chilled and poured just before tasting. For mixed digestifs such as an amaretto sour or a limoncello spritz you need a larger glass than this series offers.

Small bowls break in a different place than large ones: on the 8 cl glass it is the rim that is vulnerable, not the stem. So wash them on a short cycle and stand them apart in the basket rather than against each other. The Krysta crystal stays clear even after many cycles, but liqueur and syrup leave sugars behind that are best rinsed off straight away.

Looking for a small glass for jenever or a cold shot rather than a digestif? You will find those with the shot glasses. For the narrow bowls made specifically for grappa, look at the grappa glasses. And if you often pour a fixed measure, the jiggers do the work you would otherwise have to do by eye, and every serving stays the same.